About the company

The company is fully owned and run by Juvenal Iturriaga. A native Peruvian from
Urubamba (Yanahuara community) a province of Cusco-Peru. The company is 100% Peruvian
and no foreign investors participate. Hence guaranteeing that all income stays in
the country and like this supports the idea of sustainable and responsible tourism.
Responsible Tourism is tourism which:

minimises negative economic, environmental and social impacts

generates greater economic benefits for local people and enhances the well being
of host communities

improves working conditions and access to the industry

involves local people in decisions that affect their lives and life chances

makes positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage
embracing diversity

provides more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections
with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental
issues

provides access for physically challenged people

is culturally sensitive, encourages respect between tourists and hosts, and builds
local pride and confidence”

The whole company is build around this fundamental idea. Juvenal has strong ties
to the various local mountain communities and wants to offer good work with fair
salaries to these people. The company does not work with foreign tour operators
or other intermediaries but only accepts bookings via the webpage or directly by
contacting Juvenal. Once the company runs well and generates extra revenue, this
money shall be used to set up social projects which support local people in the
mountains. We offer a variety of treks and city tours in Cusco with professional
bilingual (Spanish and English) staff.

About Juvenal Iturriaga

My name is Juvenal Iturriaga and I was born on 30th November 1978 in the Yanahuara
community in Urubamba. I spent the first years of my life with my parents growing
our own food like corn, potatoes and some vegetables. Dring the elementary and primary
school at my community I learned Quechua which is our mother language in the highland
communities and a little Spanish.

In order to be able to continue school I left my community and went all alone to down town Urubamba to secondary school. As my
parents had no means to finance my studies I had to look after myself during that
time and worked for about two years (1995, 1996) as a porter on the classical Inca
trail. It was hard work carrying 45 to 50 kilos on my back with a bad salary.

As I did not want to spend my life as a porter I decided to move to Cusco and to keep
studying in order to eventually become a tour guide. In Peru tour guides have to
study tourism and English. I worked very hard to put together the money for university
and finally I went to university for three years and became a tour guide in the
INSTITUO I.S.T. AMERICANA DEL CUSCO. It took me another two years to learn English
in the INSTITUTO CULTURAL PERUANO NORTHEAMERICANO (I.C.P.N.A. CUSCO). In that time
I was doing all sorts of jobs in order to make my living and finance my studies.
But the dream came true and a small farmer boy from the Highlands managed to become
a real Peruvian tour guide.

I have been working as a tour guide since 2003 for various
companies and during that time I learnt a lot from my tourist guests and also from
the local staff (cooks, porters and classmates) accompanying me on the trails. During
the last six years I did not just hike the classical four day Inca trail but also
various trails in the many highland communities where our porters come from. Hiking
these remote trails evidenced once more how hard the life is in the Peruvian mountains.

I learnt that most companies are run by foreigners and the large portion of the
earnings leave the country and next to nothing remains to help local people and
develop the country. So I decided that I want to start my own company and once it
runs well be able to help my people in the future. This is what drives me. I never
forgot my roots and want to actively contribute in improving their life.